Plain Dealer FileJane Scott's "What's Happening" column was a mainstay in The Plain Dealer's Friday magazine for years. She used the column to announce new shows and to shine the spotlight on favorite artists. This photo appeared with the column in the early 2000's.

Jane Scott has been covering rock 'n' roll full-time for The Plain Dealer since Sept. 15, 1964, the day the Beatles played Public Hall in Cleveland on their first concert tour of the United States. That was 12,636 days ago today. Jane's still on the beat, and Monday is her 80th birthday.

Bands go in and out of style. But Jane is always there, guaranteed to raise a smile.

She's the act you've known for all these years - been there, covered that, from the Rolling Stones to Britney Spears.

Her enthusiasm for the music has been unflagging, her energy awe-inspiring. She's living proof that the music really will keep you young.

"It's the excitement of rock 'n' roll that keeps me going," she says. "It's that unity of feeling you get when the audience is loving the music together and sharing. It's unexpectedness and the swift changes. You go from pop to hip-hop. And it all melds into rock somehow. It keeps you on your toes."

Jane missed the first Woodstock festival in 1969. She went to the 25th anniversary show in 1994 at the age of 75. One evening, as she walked around the muddy festival grounds in upstate New York, she joked about covering the 50th anniversary show in 2019.

Or maybe she wasn't joking. She'll only be 100 that year.

Happy birthday, Jane.

The scoop on the matriarch of rock writers

Q

Where were you born?

A

Mount Sinai Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.

Q

Where did you grow up?

A

In Lakewood and Russell Township.

Q

Where did you go to high school?

A

Lakewood High School, Class of 1937.

Q

What did you do after high school?

A

I went to the University of Michigan.

Q

What did you study?

A

English and Speech. I got a teacher's certificate I've never used.

Q

What is your earliest musical memory?

A

My father's favorite song - "Jeanine, I Dream of Lilac Time."

Q

What was the first record you acquired?

A

"Sent For You Yesterday, And Here You Come Today" sung by Jimmy Rushing.

Q

What did you do during World War II?

A

I was in the Navy. I was a lieutenant, one of Cleveland's first WAVES. I was a glorified typist known as a codebreaker.

Q

What did you do after the war?

A

I attended Wilcox College of Commerce, a business school that went out of business. But I went there to learn to type and do a little shorthand.

Q

What did you do on your first newspaper job?

A

I was called the Women's Editor, writing features for the Chagrin Valley Herald, which started in 1947, the year I joined the paper.

Q

When did you join The Plain Dealer?

A

March 24, 1952, three days too late because the Moondog Coronation Ball was March 21, 1952.

Q

What was your first job at The Plain Dealer?

A

I was one of the Society Editor Louise Davis' assistants, writing fabulous prose about the comings and goings of what Mary Strassmeyer called "the swells." They hired me for $50 a week. My big coup as a society writer was the time I got two identical twins engaged to two identical twins. The story and picture ended up on the front page and was reported as far away as Pakistan.

Q

How did you become the newspaper's rock writer?

A

I was already the "Senior Class" (Golden Age) editor, covering activities of the older beat. The "Boy and Girl" page editor decided to leave and I was invited to take that job on, too. I had the pimples to pension beat, is what my colleagues said. I gradually switched the emphasis from schooly-dooley stuff to music. When the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan's show, I knew what the kids really wanted to read.

Q

What was your first interview?

A

My first big interview was at the old Cleveland Hotel on September 15, 1964, with the Beatles. The security was really tough and they almost didn't let me in. Norman Wain of WIXY 1260 insisted that I be included in the interview. I didn't feel too bad about being initially overlooked because the band's manager, Brian Epstein, had to talk his way in, too.

Q

What was the first concert you covered?

A

The first major one was the Beatles on Sept. 15, 1964, at Public Hall.

Q

Which rock concerts have you attended in the past few weeks?

A

I sometimes go to two or three a night for my new Backstage Pass column. In the past few weeks, I've seen the Violent Femmes, Koko Taylor, Krayzie Bone, the Rolling Stones, Lauryn Hill, DJ Derek May and Little Charlie & the Nightcats.

Q

What was your favorite concert of all time?

A

When Bruce Springsteen played the Coliseum on Aug. 30, 1978. He played for about three hours there, jumped in a limousine and went to the old Agora on E. 24th Street and got up on stage with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Clarence Clemons and Steve Van Zandt and played for another half hour or so. I also saw Bruce at the old Allen Theatre in 1975 and said in my story, "His name is Bruce Springsteen. And he will be a superstar."

Q

What was your favorite place to see a show?

A

I like places with excellent acoustics such as Music Hall and the Palace or the State Theatre.

Q

Name your favorite rock artist or band of the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s.

A

Elvis from the '50s, though I never got to meet him. The Beatles from the '60s. Bruce Springsteen in the '70s. U2 from the '80s. Of the '90s artists, I like Lyle Lovett best.

Q

Who is your favorite rock star of all time?

A

Bruce Springsteen.

Q

What's your favorite rock album?

A

Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run."

Q

What's your favorite rock song?

A

I like "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers.

Q

Who was your best interview?

A

The best people to interview are the ones who already have a lot to say and have controversial opinions, like Frank Zappa and Lou Reed.

I call it my security kit. It includes my ear plugs, Kleenex (because when you are at a show with 85,000 people they are sure to run out of toilet paper), safety pins to pin both my car keys and my backstage pass on, at least four pens because people borrow them and don't return them, two notebooks (one for the music interview and one for crowd observations) and a peanut butter sandwich because peanut butter doesn't spoil easily and sometimes you don't have time to stand in line for food. I also bring a camera, if it's allowed.

Q

What's your favorite color?

A

Pink.

Q

What keeps you going after almost 40 years of covering rock `n' roll?

A

It's the excitement ... It's that unity of feeling you get, when the audience is loving the music together and sharing. It's the unexpectedness. And the swift changes. You go from pop to hip-hop. And it all melds into rock somehow. It keeps you on your toes. And there are so many delightful characters you wouldn't find in any other field.

Q

Will you ever retire?

A

I don't understand that word. It never occurs to me although I imagine my retirement has occurred to other people.

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